ALABASTER – At Birds and Burgers, owner Tyre Stuckey’s goal to is to serve his customers real food, fast.

The restaurant opened on Nov. 13 at 717 First Street North across from Shelby Baptist Medical Center. Since opening, Stuckey said he’s received a warm welcome from the community. Stuckey, a restauranteur who specializes in fast casual eateries, said Birds and Burgers is his first venture into the world of fast food. He said he was shocked to see so many people coming for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Stuckey is the co-founder and co-owner of Miss Dots and the former vice president of operations for Zoe’s Kitchen. Over a period of about 12 years, he helped Zoe’s Kitchen increase to more than 100 stores and led the way to the company becoming publically traded in 2014.

Stuckey said he had been studying Alabaster for a while and was searching for an opportunity to open a business in the city.

“Last December this space became available and I acted on it. I wanted to penetrate the fast food market and I felt like there was an opportunity for hand-pattied burger options in Alabaster,” he said.

Stuckey described Birds and Burgers as a gourmet fast food. The restaurant uses only high-quality ingredients and fresh, never frozen meat that’s delivered three times a week. The food spot uses the same 40-year-old chicken recipe that’s used at Miss Dots, and original spice blends are used on the burgers and the chicken. The restaurant also offers catering services.

For breakfast, the menu includes biscuits and gravy, chicken biscuits, bagel sandwiches, breakfast bowls and more. Lunch and dinner option include salads, burgers and sandwiches, chicken and rice or turkey and rice bowls, fried chicken and tenders, milkshakes and an array of sides. Customers can order food at the drive thru or by walking up to a service window. Since opening, Stuckey said customers have raved about the fried chicken.

“All of our food is made from scratch,” Stuckey said. “You’ll never find bottles, cans or a microwave here. I’ve had people say that the chicken reminds them of something they’d eat at their grandmother’s house on a Sunday.”

Initially, Stuckey said he was a bit nervous about opening the restaurant, but his 20-person team has proven to be the winning ingredient for the business.

“The team here is phenomenal,” he said. “I believe in hiring local and paying well and it’s been a winning recipe for us.”

Birds and Burgers is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is closed on Sundays. For more information, go to Birdsandburgers.com.